J-Franz Just Irritates Me
It’s no secret to readers of this blog that I’m not a fan of Jonathan Franzen (a.k.a. America’s Next Top Writer). Not that into his books or his public persona. So, when the galley for the new Juan Gabriel Vásquez book—The Sound of Things Falling—arrived complete with an interview between ...
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Juan Gabriel Vasquez's "The Secret History of Costaguana"
This may be thanks to Bolano and his massive appeal, but it seems (to me at least), like Spanish literature is going through a sort of a “Second Boom.” Not so much in terms of a shared aesthetic, but in terms of having captured the imaginations of American publishers. In addition to standards like Javier Marias ...
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2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist
They’ve just announced the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Ficton prize: Voiceover by Céline Curiol, translated by Sam Richard from the French Beijing Coma by Ma Jian, translated by Flora Drew from the Chinese The Siege by Ismail Kadare, translated by David Bellos from the Albanian The Armies by Evelio ...
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2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist
The longlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize has (finally!) been announced. Here you go: Voice Over by Céline Curiol (trans. Sam Richard) A Blessed Child by Linn Ullman (trans. Sarah Death) The Blue Fox by Sjon (trans. Victoria Cribb) Friendly Fire by A.B. Yehoshua (trans. Stuart Schoffman) My ...
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